Gisela
I hope you find these guidelines helpful in your interactions with pregnant women as failing to follow them may result in serious physical harm. If you are thinking, “surely she doesn’t mean me” - then you should probably read this twice.

1) The appropriate response to a couple telling you they are having a baby is “Congratulations!” with enthusiasm. Any other response makes you an ass.

2) Through the wonders of science, we now know that babies are made ONLY by the mother and father (or donor & doctor…but you know what I mean) - not grandparents. Unless the baby is in your uterus or you are the man that helped put it there, you may not ever use the phrase “my baby”.

3) On the same note, unless you made the baby as defined in #2, the pregnancy, birth and raising of the child are not about you. You do not have input. No one wants to hear your opinion unless they ask for it.

4) The body of a pregnant women should be treated the same as any other body. You would not randomly touch someone’s stomach if they were not pregnant, nor would you inquire into the condition of their uterus, cervix or how they plan to use their breasts. Pregnancy does not remove all traces of privacy from a woman.

5) Likewise, no women wants to hear comments on her weight- ever. A pregnant woman does not find it flattering that you think she is about to pop, must be having twins, looks swollen or has gained weight in her face. Telling her she looks too small only makes her worry that she is somehow starving her baby. Making such comments invite her to critique your physical appearance and you may not act offended. The only acceptable comment on appearance is “You look fabulous!”.

6) By the time we are 20-30 years old, most of us have picked up on the fact that the summer is hot. We are hot every summer when we are not pregnant. We don’t need you to point out that we will be miserably hotbefore the baby comes.

7) There is a reason that tickets to L&D are not yet sold on Ticketmaster. Childbirth is actually not a public event. It may sound crazy, but some women really do not relish the idea of their mother, MIL or a host of other family members seeing their bare butt and genitals. Also, some people simply feel like the birth of their child is a private and emotional moment to be shared only by the parents.

8. Like everything else is life, unless you receive an invitation, you are NOT invited. This includes doctor appointments, ultrasounds, labor, delivery, the hospital and the parents home. You do not decide if youwill be there for the birth or if you will move in with the new parents to “help out”. If your assistance is desired, rest assured that you will be asked for it.

9) If you are asked to help after the birth, this means you should clean up the house, help with cooking meals, and generally stay out of the way. Holding the baby more than the parents, interfering withbreastfeeding and sleeping schedules, and making a woman who is still leaking fluid from multiple locations lift a finger in housework is not helping.

10) The only people entitled to time with the baby are the parents. Whether they choose to have you at the hospital for the birth or ask for you to wait three weeks to visit, appreciate that you are are beinggiven the privilege of seeing their child. Complaining or showing disappointment only encourages the parents to include you less.

I hope this helps - it sure makes me feel better.

Gisela
Well, they're still self-portraits, but here are some better 32 week belly shots taken on Saturday.

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Gisela
Can it really be 32 weeks already? Only 8 weeks to go (give or take)! I had another doctor's appointment today. The baby's heartbeat was 147 bpm, my blood pressure is looking good, and oh- they told me I've lost 9 pounds since my last appointment 2 weeks ago. Yes, you read that correctly. I am 8 months pregnant, and they tried to tell me I lost 8 pounds. I had to tell the nurse practitioner today that I don't think that my weight was recorded correctly the previous 2 appointments (she showed me my chart, and I remembered exactly what the scale said- and it didn't match). In reality, I did lose about 5 pounds, but my weight has fluctuated so much this pregnancy. Main thing is- baby is healthy, I am healthy, they are not concerned. (And hey...I will not complain about losing a few pounds!) My next appointment is in 2 weeks, and then another one 2 weeks following that- and at that point I'll be going weekly. WOW...it just doesn't seem possible!

Here is a TERRIBLE picture of me this week. It is blurry, but it's the best I could get! I'm going to try to get another one tomorrow.

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In other news- Nicholas has a new baby cousin! Ken's brother & his wife welcomed a beautiful baby boy to the world yesterday. Michael Harry Jr. was born at 12:46p weighing 7 pounds 9 ounces and 20" long. I think he's absolutely adorable, and Ken and I think he resembles Nicholas as a newborn. Not surprising- Ken & Michael look a lot alike! Baby Michael (as Nicholas calls him) has more hair and it is darker! We wonder if our new little one will come out looking like his/her big brother & cousin!



Here is a picture of Baby Michael-

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Gisela
When you're 7.5 months pregnant (or heck...if you're pregnant at ALL) please do not try to do a split. It will hurt like no one's business and you will look like a fool!

So this afternoon Ken and I decided to go out and hit up a few stores to do some shopping, since we don't have Nicholas for a few days. As we're leaving Best Buy it is drizzling outside- no big deal. Except for the fact I'm wearing flip flops, hit a slippery patch, and proceed to do a split in the middle of the parking lot right in front of the store where people are driving and walking all around me. I was so far down on the ground and my legs were so far apart I had to get Ken to help me up. I think I pulled every darn muscle in my left butt cheek. A bit painful, not something I recommend. At least I was laughing at myself. I manage to do stupid crap like this all the time.

But please remember...leave gymnastic stunts to the Olympians, and do not attempt while pregnant!
Gisela
Yes, I have hit the 30 week mark. 75% through this pregnancy. It has seriously flown by SO fast! I think having Nicholas around has kept me occupied. Not to mention our summers are so busy that I always have something to look forward to, and I don't just think about the baby's arrival! Oh, and the fact that we still have so much to do before s/he arrives!!!

Yesterday was my 30 week appointment. I'm now going every 2 weeks, and at 36 weeks I'll start my weekly appointments. Still no real weight gain- I believe I'm 11 or 12 pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight. My blood pressure is still looking great, and the baby's heartbeat was around 140. Ken and Nicholas went with me and Nicholas had the biggest smile on his face when he heard the heartbeat. It melted my heart! He seems really excited for his new sibling. And if you ask him, it's a baby sister in my belly! I still have no gut feeling or mother's intuition, but I'll go with Nicholas' guess and say it is a girl.

I've got some shopping done for the baby, and I've gone through what gender neutral clothes I have left from Nicholas. In fact I'm washing them all this weekend! I have bought some cute boy outfits and cute girl outfits, and figure what we don't use I can return/exchange, sell, or give away.

Still no name(s) yet for the Pumpkin. We have a few ideas we're tossing around, but nothing that I would call the perfect name yet. I think I need to meet this little one first before naming him/her.

That's about all for now. Once I have Ken take a picture of me I will update. But who knows when that may be! ***8/11/08 Here's the updated pics. Sel-portraits so not great, but you get the idea!

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Here is a picture of Nicholas from a trip to Ocean City a few weeks ago-

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